More than 99 per cent of dentists in the first completed cycle have met the General Dental Council’s continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
By law, dentists must complete 250 hours of CPD every five years, 75 of which must be verifiable.
GDC chief executive and registrar Duncan Rudkin said: ‘We are pleased that the overwhelming majority of dentists in the 2002-2006 cycle have complied with the CPD requirements without any difficulty. Such a strong response sends a clear message to the public that dentists are committed to keeping their knowledge and skills up to date and to maintaining high standards of care.’
All dentists in the 2002-2006 cycle who did not declare enough hours were offered an additional six months to make up the shortfall. A total of 234 dentists have been given until 8 November 2007 to provide evidence demonstrating that they have completed the required hours.
In addition, 89 dentists who did not confirm completion of the required number of hours and did not apply for extra time are now facing removal from the Dentists Register.
In the next few weeks the GDC will be undertaking an audit of dentists’ CPD, and will contact a number of dentists who have declared the required number of hours and ask them to provide proof of their CPD.
Mr Rudkin added: ‘I encourage all dentists to make sure that their CPD records are in order. Those dentists selected to take part in the audit will need to send us details of the CPD they have declared, including certificates of verifiable activities.’
2002-2006 CPD cycle statistics:
Total number of dentists in cycle: 10,565
Number who met the GDC requirements: 10,242
Number who have been given further time: 234
Number who have been notified of their removal from the Register: 89
